Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-03-24
PICTURES IN ROME.
Drawn with the Loving Pen Of
Foreign Wanderer.
Beautiful Children Still Seen In Its
Streets Who Might Be Types
for q Raphael-A Middle
Age Pilgrim.

often see the most touching traits
of kindness manifested by Italian chill
dren. 1 seldom, very seldom, hear a
child cry; almost never see two chill
dren quarreling. There are no pictures
of Italy that l so often wish 1 could
transfer to my friends at home as
scenes in which children are the act
ing characters.
A few days since it was bright
afternoon and instead of the vatican,
the capitol or churches to see-most of
our little party had shopping to do. 1
had been looking over Hans Ander-
sons pictures of Roman life in his
''Improvisatore," the most perfect tab
leaur virants of Rome that any writer,
even Hawthorne. has ever drawn,
Hawthorne's are in quite another style,
perfect of their kind, but Hans Ander-
son makes you see Rome. You "catch
the living manners as they rise (" as no
other writer pictures them. I started
out alone, not knowing or caring
whittier my steps would lead me. l
think sympathy with the child life of
the g Improvisatore led me to where
the opening years of his were passed
and into scenes that made his
pictures as real as if they were
actually passing before me. l
found myself in the piazza
Barberini and. without at ali
looking for it, at the corner of the
via FclicO and beside the fountain that
he describes on the first page of his
Story, where 1.-The water pours through
the pipes out of the wall down into
stone basin" Of l can only by my
suggestions get you to read the story
my letter will not be a lost work.
Two children were playing at the fount-
ain and several others just around. all
evidently of the poorer class. But the
children ut the fountain especially at
tracted my attention. One was little
girl who must have been of about the
same age as my little church acquaint-
ance. She was in charge of little
brother. SUPPOSEDLY eight years old.
She wanted to play with the falling
streams of water. But she was by this
wetting her grembilino (apron) as the
brother kept telling ''piccina mia,"
''preziasa mia" "cara. carissima mia
(my little one. precious one, dear one)
in the softest. tendcrest tones, that
were like the music of a flute.
But she, regardless of wetting
her apron. persisted in put
ting her hands through the
streams of the bright water. and was
crying and scbbing to have such a Joy
taken from her. l stopped to see the
fountain that the "Improvisatore" re-
grets should have been left out of the
engraving of the Piazza. and became
interested in the two children and the
tender care of the boy over his little
sister, and his efforts to keep her out of
the water. His sweet voice and the terms
of endearment he used to persuade her.
went to my heart. 1t was little of what
he said that l could understand. but l
caught the endearing terms he used.
and the child's voice was language
that interpreted his words. But when
he raised his head, turned toward me,
and lifted his cap. as spoke to the
little one crying for the bright water,
his face was such dream of beauty rs
it seemed to me had never realized in
actual. feshy childhood. 1t is no Won
der that Raphael and Correggio could
paint angels and beautiful Christ chill
dren if they could paint portraits, for
i have never been into the streets any
where in Italy but l have seen chill
dren as beautiful as any angels or
Christ child that ever glowed on any
painters canvas.
laid big penny in the little girls
hand with which to buy some cake at a
shop near by. This dried her tears.
asked of the little boy which street led
where l wished to 60 and left them. the
brother trying to persuade the little
one to say srdzta to the signora who
had given her the penny for cake, and
TO explain to ME that he did not willing
~ make his little sister cry. but
mamma had intrusted her to his care
snd he mus not let her wet her clothes
as she was doing. I left them, but
never In forget the scene upon which I
had cnanced-as we call charcc-nor
the beauty of that boys angel face AZ
NE Lifted his cap to me, locking up from